19 July 2011
editorial
Nairobi — We are reaching a critical stage on the reform agenda with the impending appointment of the team that will manage the next polls.
We use the words ‘reform agenda’ deliberately, for the focus must not be on the countdown to the 2012 elections and the attendant pushing and shoving, but on the creation of institutions and enactment of laws that will drive reforms towards a stable, peaceful, united and prosperous Kenya.
In that regard, even the next elections and the eventual outcome are not ends in themselves.
They are merely part of the process of national healing that should forever banish memories of the bloodshed that came out of the 2007 elections.
We have a sad tendency in this country of expending great energies fighting for political advantage, but as we approach the next elections, we must do so with an eye on the past and resolve that never again shall we tread that path of death and destruction.
The 2007 violence was the outcome of a disputed election, hence the need to establish a credible and efficient machinery that will manage the next polls.
It is important, therefore, that all parties resist the temptation to try and pack the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission with political hirelings.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga owe it to Kenyans and to themselves to ensure the establishment of a truly independent and capable body to manage the elections and attendant matters such as constituency boundaries review and voter registration.
Their respective political parties and alliances, as well as key institutions such as Parliament and the courts, must all play their roles in ensuring the appointment of an electoral body that all Kenyans can truly believe in.
AllAfrica – All the Time